“Tulip, I did question how I came to be the next duke.Until a couple of years ago, I was too far down the Davenport line to ever consider that I might inherit the title.But you have to understand my family.”
“Oh, I know your family’s reputation quite well.”
He cast her a wry smile.“Yes, which explains why you so diligently avoided me all these months.The Davenport men are hedonistic wastrels.Name any vice, and I’ll give you a Davenport duke who indulged in it to the extreme.”
She nodded.“We all saw how they lived their lives of excess and indulgence.They cared only for themselves and gave no consideration to the harm they caused others.Is this why you believe their deaths in short succession plausible?”
“Yes, although I did have my doubts.Ultimately, I could draw no other conclusion.I’ve read the coroner’s reports and they were quite thorough.He ruled the deaths accidental.No hint of foul measures.”
“Oh?When did you read them?”
He cast her a wry smile.“Shortly after I inherited the title.I thought it prudent to do a little investigation, just to be certain nothing more was going on.I was not keen to become the next duke about to meet a quick and untimely end.Must we discuss this now?”
“No, I suppose not.”But she was relieved he had looked into those deaths and was satisfied there was nothing sinister going on.
She had enough concerns about marrying him.
A murderer on the loose should not be one of them.
Her greatest worry was in regard to the terms of their marriage.
What was he offering?
Having come from a large and loving family, this was important to her.
She did not care about becoming his duchess.A title in itself was not going to secure her happiness.What she wanted was a true and loving friendship between them.The hope of children in their future.
She had grown up surrounded by caring family, for both her father’s Farthingale relations and her mother’s Hester family had taken active roles in raising her.Every cousin, whether related by first, second, or third degree of consanguinity, treated her as one of their own.
John Farthingale was actually her father’s cousin, but she referred to him as Uncle John because it felt odd to call him cousin.
The same for George and Rupert, since they were the older and wiser family members and it felt right to address them as uncles, too.
Perhaps this was why she appealed to Davenport, a man denied the warmth and protection of his blood kin.
By marrying her, he would acquire a ready-made, closely knit family.
Was not his desire to be a family man among a good family like hers another point in his favor?
Tulip was still trying to make sense of him when he regained her attention.“What are you thinking now, Tulip?”
“That you are an excellent dancer,” she said lightly as he continued to twirl her around the crowded dance floor with effortless grace.
“Is that all?”
“Truthfully, I am thinking of us and trying to figure out what I should hope for in our marriage.And also learn what you are hoping for in this union, should it come to pass.”
“Still reluctant to believe this is real?It is, Tulip.At least, for my part.But yes, it is something important that we must discuss.”
She nodded.“This is what I am trying to organize in my mind.Why did you choose me?Merely because of my connection to Somerset?I know it quite well, but so do many other people.It seems you have just saddled yourself with a convenient tour guide.You could have paid anyone to tell you more about the area and your family than I could.”
“Why are you dismissing your importance to me?”He frowned while continuing to lead her through the steps of the waltz that would soon come to an end.
“Because we are not equal in any respect.Not in height or strength.Not in bloodlines.You are a duke.My father was not even gentry.You are experienced in worldly matters and I have been sheltered in the countryside for most of my life.”She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.“After months of balls and routs and musicales, I still feel awkward and uncertain.But you…you are one of those annoying people who do everything well and make it appear easy.”
He laughed at her last remark, a deep, mirthful rumble that felt quite nice as it wrapped around her heart.“Is this what you think of me?”
His gaze was piercing as he stared at her.
